Wednesday, January 11, 2017

(ISW) Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) reached the Tigris River on
January 8 after recapturing several of the remaining neighbourhoods in southeast
Mosul. To the north, ISF pushed into
central Mosul from the north and east from January 4 to 9, nearing the University
of Mosul.

ISF pushed towards
key ISIS positions in Mosul after making significant progress in the
northern and south-eastern neighbourhoods from January 4 to 9. The rapid gains
followed new troops inserted into the operation from December 29 to January 3. With
the arrival of ISF reinforcements and increased coalition trainers. Newly
deployed Federal Police units, are now consolidating control of south-eastern Mosul. Meanwhile, the Counter
Terrorism Service (CTS) reached the Tigris River after securing the eastern
bank around the southernmost Fourth Bridge on January 8. CTS, however, is
unlikely to make any advance by ground into western Mosul in the near future because the bridge was destroyed in which to prevent ISIS movement into eastern Mosul.
Coalition advisor's on the ground will likely assist ISF in rebuilding the
bridge, or creating a new one, as they did in Qayyarah in July 2016.

CTS is also leading a push from the north towards the
University of Mosul, which had previously been a major logistical hub for ISIS
in the city. CTS entered the area after crossing the Khosr River, during a night raid on January 6, shifting the focus
from northeast to northern Mosul. Their effort was matched by units from the
Iraqi Army, breaching Mosul’s northern limits for the first time on January 6 as
well. Their entrance into the city limits is likely the result of U.S. advisor's
embedding deeper in the ISF’s ranks, as the army units had struggled to advance
beyond Mosul’s northern suburbs for weeks. ISF will likely face significant resistance as
it enters the university area, though it is unclear if ISIS will actively fight
for the campus.

The cutting of the bridges by coalition airstrikes has been reported further here: